President Barack Obama said Saturday his administration will launch
talks with South Korea aimed at resolving remaining issues blocking the
completion of a South Korea free trade agreement.

Obama said that his goal would be to clear up the remaining
issues before he visits South Korea in November and to submit the
agreement to Congress for approval within a "few months" after his
visit.

"It is the right thing to do for our country. It is the
right thing to do for Korea," Obama said with South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak at his side.

Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs said
the deal would likely be sent to Congress early next year, although he
said the pact might be sent sooner during a possible lameduck session of
Congress after the November elections.

Gibbs said the two major
sticking points for the administration included barriers South Korea has
erected to the sale of U.S. autos and beef in South Korea.

The
administration of George W. Bush negotiated a free trade deal with South
Korea in 2007, but the agreement has been stalled in the United States
since that time because of determined opposition led by U.S. automakers
who complained about South Korean barriers to sales of foreign-made
cars.

Since taking office in January 2009, the Obama
administration, in the face of stiff opposition from U.S. labor groups,
has refused to send the agreement to Congress for a vote.

Under
U.S. law, both the House and Senate have to consider trade agreements
under fast-track procedures that require up-and-down votes without
amendments in a specified amount of time.

Democratic members of
Congress said South Korea will have to fully address the concerns of
U.S. producers for the free trade deal to win congressional approval.

"Congress
expects to be consulted actively in these negotiations and the date
targeted by the president can be met only if the outstanding issues are
fully addressed with enforceable commitments," said House Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Sander Levin, D-Mich.

Republicans said they
hoped the announcement concerning South Korea meant that the
administration is prepared to move forward with two other completed free
trade agreements negotiated by the Bush administration with Panama and
Colombia.

"I urge the president to commit to finish negotiations
on all three agreements by the end of the year, if not sooner," said
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

Obama
said a completed deal would strengthen commercial ties between the two
countries and "create enormous potential economic benefits" by removing
barriers to the sale of American products in South Korea, the 14th
largest economy in the world. The administration estimated it could
boost exports of American products by $10 billion to $11 billion
annually.

Obama said the agreement would "create jobs here in the
United States which is my No. 1 priority."

Lee thanked Obama for
agreeing to move ahead with the trade deal by setting a date when he
expected to send it to Congress.

"We will work toward that date
and that objective," he told Obama.

The two men spoke to reporters
after holding talks on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit
in Toronto.

The administration of George W. Bush negotiated a
free trade deal with South Korea in 2007, but the agreement has been
stalled in the United States since that time because of determined
opposition led by U.S. automakers who contend that the agreement did not
go far enough to remove barriers to the sale of U.S. cars in Korea.

Since
taking office in January 2009, the Obama administration, in the face of
stiff opposition from U.S. labor groups, has refused to send the
agreement to Congress for a vote.

Under U.S. law, both the House
and Senate have to consider trade agreements under fast-track procedures
that require up-and-down votes without amendments in a specified amount
of time.

The administration said that Obama had asked U.S. Trade
Representative Ron Kirk to initiate new discussions on the agreement
with the South Korean government.

The objective will be to
complete those talks by the time Obama visits Seoul in November. South
Korea is the site for the next meeting of the Group of 20 nations.

After
the differences are resolved, the goal would be to submit the agreement
to Congress for a vote in what Obama said would be "the few months that
follow" that visit.